Another Busy Saturday

Its that time of the year where my in-laws needed to stock up on New Year dried goods. So its off to Hong Kong Street again. Wifey also bought some and got some free. After that it was back home to in-laws place to split the "loot". After that, it is part 2, shopping time again!

Did a bit of shopping at Taka before we met up with my Bro, SIL and little Nikki. As we're going to Paris, we went to Louis Vuitton to check out some of the latest designs and prices to compare with those in France. LV was pretty crowded and we had to queue just to go in.

This is the first time I've stepped into LV. There were no price tags on the bags except for the watches. Watches weren't impressive but the bags look good. Prices for a typical sized handbag was around S$1.5K.

After the LV experience, dinner was at 鼎泰丰 as Wifey had some vouchers, after which it was time for more shopping! Finally had a chance to browse through the range of Raoul shirts which I have heard so much hype about from some colleagues at work. Not bad, although I didn't try on any, I think their "Slim Fit" has a similar cutting to the Zara ones, so maybe next time I will get one. The prices of the shirts are about 20 bucks more than Z. Talking about shirts, before dinner, also checked out Massimo Dutti as they had a sale. The MD shirt material feels nice but thinner than those in Z and R. Price is comparable to R.

It was walking and shopping all the way to Robinsons Centrepoint and finally back to Taka around 10+pm. Finally got to rest our tired legs at Coffee Club until closing time at 11pm. Judging from the expressions, I'm sure Nikki had a great day too.

Overdue Vacation

Wifey has been to Paris twice so far for work. She is about to go there again next month before CNY. (3 trips in less than 8 months!) I think I should not waste this opportunity as this is probably the last trip she will make, so I decided to tag along. The last real overseas vacation that I had was over two years ago in the West Coast of USA, so I guess this is a well deserved break.

Usually, before I go for such a trip I will feel a bit guilty of not being around when work has to be done in the office. But this time I think things are in pretty good hands so its not so bad. Anyway, work can never be finished, there's always plenty of things to do.

I am going to join Wifey sometime in the middle of her trip, which means that I will some free time for myself to prepare before I leave. Although the trip will be a short one, I have not fully planned for it yet. I only managed to find out how to get from the airport to the hotel. Will need to find out the places to visit.

BTW, I am also going to be freezing my ass of in France cos its winter time now, so need to get more thick clothing to wear. Looks like the weather in Europe this year is quite cold. Temperature in France will probably be in the single digits (Celsius), going into negative territory at night. Hopefully most of the attractions will still be open.

Birthday Dinner #2

Today was Wifey's treat. Have found this place on the net but yet to try it. Located in Basement One of Palais Renaissance is The Marmalade Pantry.

By the time we reached PR it was already 7:30pm. There was no crowd on a Monday evening. We were promptly seated and served. The main restaurant seating area was in the foyer of the shopping centre. Decor is simple and cosy. The service was not bad except for the part where they forgot to serve us iced-water when every other table had theirs.

Anyway, prices were reasonable although we were surrounded by expensive boutique shops. Spotted a few well groomed tai-tai's making their final rounds before the shops close. I decided on the set dinner while Wifey had ala-carte. Set dinner ranged from S$35-S$40 depending on what you picked from the menu. Basically you can choose any appetiser, main and dessert.

We had the following:

- parsnip sweet potato & butternut soup (set)
- braised lamb with sweet carrots cardamon & cabbage mash (set)
- foie gras burger with sundried tomato relish (ala-carte)
- sticky date toffee pudding with vanilla bean ice cream (set)

Overall, the dishes were pretty good. The only disappointment was the "foie gras burger". When you give a name like that, you would expect real foie gras stuffed into buns. Unfortunately, the "burger" was more of a beef patty with foie gras stuffing.

Fortunately, the dessert turned up to save the day. The pudding was warm, moist and soft, and it went very well with the light toffee and cold vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!

Wanted also to try their excellent cupcakes but they were already sold out. Too bad, maybe next time.



For a closer look, click HERE.

Birthday Dinner #1

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me-ee, Happy Birthday to me!

Wahaha, another great year has passed and looking forward to another one ahead. Here are some interesting statistics:

Age: 36 years, 0 months, and 0 days
In Days: 13149 days
In Hours: 315576 hours
In Minutes: 18934560 minutes

"Have you really lived 10,000 or more days,or have you lived one day 10,000 or more times?"-- Wayne Dyer

Today I didn't take leave cos have to work and meet a customer. But anyway, my Dad, Bro, SIL and Cousins were so nice to organise a birthday dinner for me at the House of Hu Nan restaurant in Novena Square. Thanks for the dinner, birthday cake and ang pows ... heheheh!

Dinner was not bad, although I would not recommend it to those who cannot stomach spicy food. Of the 8 dishes that we ordered, only 2 were non-spicy. The rest were chock full of different types of chilli. I spent most of the time picking chilli out of the food before I can eat them. Sorry, can't remember the names of the dishes, but there was super thinly sliced pig's ears, sour-spicy soup (酸辣汤), spicy stir-fried lamb (小炒羊肉), soon hock fish, spicy stir-fried long beans, hunan honey ham in wraps, prawns in cherry chilli and some sort of a chicken roll, I think.

Conclusion, food was not too bad, price was pretty reasonable (not just because I didn't have to pay) and service was surprisingly good. Here's a review by Umami, a local food blogger. Here is another from AsiaOne. Unfortunately I didn't bring my cam, so no foodie pics today. Oh, and as usual, dinner entertainment was again provided by Nikki.

Childhood snacks

Today, some of us re-lived our childhood memories when we went for lunch at Casuarina. Cel and H were so excited to see some of the old snacks and biscuits for sale there. It was snacktime almost immediately after lunch!

The most enjoyable of the snacks was "Kaka" which, surprisingly, was still in production after nearly 30 years. Gone are the many different flavours of yesterday. Today there is only "Chicken" flavour. Gone are also the free "toys" that we so look forward to when opening each packet.

However, one other feature still remain, and that is the unfriendly way in which the packet of snacks are sealed. Difficult to open without resorting to scissors or teeth (like what we used to do back then). Attempts to open the pack with your hands may result in a 50% chance of an "exploding" Kaka pack and the contents all over the floor! :-D

Chionging ...

Chionging, a.k.a. Clubbing, Pubbing, going to the Disco, etc. Oops, I think I have just revealed my age, nobody calls them discos anymore, they are now known as clubs or pubs.

What is the purpose or objective? Is it just for "fun", or are you supposed to take away something from the event?

For this dinosaur, its still very much a mystery.

A Friend's Wedding - Part 2

Instead of being promptly at the hotel on time at 1830hrs, I took my time and was there only at almost 1900hrs. No issues as only a handful of dinner guests were there and none were under my ushering purview. Oh yes, have I mentioned that I am also an usher, part of the "yum seng gang", "ang pow transport and security I/C" and trainer for how to use the hotel room safe. :-D

Anyway, everything went without a hitch so no worries.

Congrats and Best Wishes to R and C!

A Friend's Wedding - Part 1

I arrived promptly at 0630hrs. The wedding wagon was outside but there was no sign of the groom. The house was still mostly dark. Calls to his mobile phone were redirected to voice mail. The gate was locked so I couldn't let myself in. A quick check with the wedding driver revealed that he has only just woken up. :-D

Waited outside and finally found him at around 0650hrs. Then I managed to get hold of a handwritten copy of the itinerary for this morning.

Luckily, everything went pretty smoothly today. (The only exception was the super hot chili laced bun which we had to help the groom finish to get through the door of the bride's home.) Basically, we went to fetch the bride, took photos at Pierce Reservoir and had the church wedding.

FYI, no I didn't lose the rings to Gollum. :-P During the ceremony, the priest was so liberal with the holy water when blessing the rings that he splashed some on me. Maybe that was part of the ritual, bless the ring bearer and make sure he is not the devil or a vampire ... oh well, so much for my Tarot reading.

After that it was back to his home and finally to the bride's place again for the only tea ceremony of the day. Anyway, still had time to visit the "hair spa" before going home to change the water in the fish tank ... bleah!

Part 2 coming soon.

Squid Ink Risotto

Home cooked "Squid-Ink Risotto"!

Well, actually we cheated cos we used pre-made squid-ink risotto rice. What we added extra were carrots, butter, bacon and seaweed. Yum!

Oh, and BTW, we did not have black teeth after eating it. Anyway, only managed to eat half the box as the box serves 3. Risotto anyone ... ?

Shopping Spree!

I dunno what has been happening for the past few months, but it seems like whenever I am out nowadays, I tend to find things to buy.

Yesterday Wifey suggested going shopping. If it was last time, it would be her doing the shopping, and me being the "executive pre-payment reviewer". But surprisingly, yesterday was totally different. I ended up spending ALL of the Takashimaya vouchers (that were courtesy of Ivan, :-P) and more. End of the day, I had 2 big shopping bags of my own stuff, Wifey didn't manage to buy a single thing ... kekeke!

Shopping for clothes, I can't help but notice lots of young male teens and those in their early 20s doing the fashion thing. There were quite a number of groups of guys shopping together, telling each other what looks nice and what is the latest "in" fashion etc. ... can't imagine doing this with my buddies 20 years ago!

Maybe this phase of liberal spending is payback time for all the repressed shopping energy over the last 20 years.

My Tarot

Since Cactus, Cel and KC have "revealed" their Tarot readings, I shall show mine as well. Here goes ... muahahahaha!!

You are The Devil

Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession

The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Wedding Rehearsal

I waited in the car outside the church listening to my favourite tunes for half an hour. It was dark and the couple were late. I hope this would not be the case on the actual day. Although it was my first time meeting the bride, the groom (my friend) didn't even introduce us to each other. Eventually, I had to do it myself ... :-(

Anyway, its been a while since I have been inside a church. The rehearsal was pretty simple, considering the number of roles I had to play. I'm officially the witness, best man, "brother", ring bearer (aka Lord of the Rings) and also driver. For the church part, all I had to do was to make sure I am there, the rings don't get lost and deliver them to the priest when he calls for it. Oh yeah, I also have to go up and put my signature in their "Marriage Register". Not sure if it is the same thing as the ROM Marriage Certificate. If it is, it will be the second time my signature is appearing on someone's MC.

They both appear to be pretty stressed cos of the number of tasks to do and to remember. I asked them about the traditional Chinese stuff like ang pao for opening of car door, and if any "gifts" were required on that day (e.g. Oranges, Roast Pig/Pork etc.) ... and their answers were 2 blank stares and "er, I dunno leh". Wah Piangz!

Guess its good in a way, as I assume that their parents are letting them decide on how to run the whole show.

Batch Job ...

I just realised that I have not updated my blog over the New Year even though it was pretty eventful. So being the lazy me, I am going to do a batch job and consolidate the one week+ of stuff into this single post.

30 Dec 2006: Pre-New Year Dinner at Evon's place.



1 Jan 2007: Wifey's Dinner at Indochine Waterfront.



2 Jan 2007: Before, After and Reward!



4 Jan 2007: Dinner at Roland Restaurant.




Food was not bad. Chilli and Pepper Crabs had plenty of roe. Weekday night mean no crowd and thus better service. Had a 20% discount off the total bill using the VIP Card + birthday month discount!

5 Jan 2007: Wifey's Present has Arrived.



Wifey loves it :-D

Tried it out in the pool. MP3 playback and even FM Radio reception under water was excellent! Only thing the waterproof earphones are connected to the main unit and cannot be replaced, hopedfully it will last.

6 Jan 2007: Another typical Saturday.



Bubbles met a friend in town!



Home cooked lunch ...



Home-made Stuffed White Buttons with Tuna and Mozarella ...